Mountain State Matters

One of the most common things you’ll hear when talking to a West Virginian about the state is that the young people all move out. Indeed, West Virginia has a hard time holding onto its population, which is perhaps why 15.3 percent of the state was over age 65 in 2006 (the U.S. average is 12.4 percent). That number is closely tied to the economy; if there are no jobs, it’s hard for people to justify remaining in the town they grew up in. In a Wall Street Journal report last December, West Virginia had a 0.2 percent population growth between 2006 and 2007. This is far from the giants in the west that grew anywhere from 2.5 to 2.9 percent, but it’s not at the bottom of the list either (Michigan and Rhode Island had negative growth).

The thing about West Virginia is that even when locals move away, they always want to go back. I’ve heard that it’s something in the water. A New York Times article, written two years ago, does a pretty good job of talking about the efflux of people from the state. Even better, the accompanying multimedia piece tells the story of three West Virginians who left but ultimately came home.

Photo by: Carol von Canon